It's Game On in Iowa for the Democrats

By Scott Galindez, Reader Supported News

26 October 15

 

n the lead-up to Iowa’s Jefferson-Jackson Dinner, I thought the hype was going to lead to a letdown. But Saturday was the biggest day so far in the race for the Democratic Party’s nomination. I have not hidden the fact that I am supporting Bernie Sanders. I have to admit, though, that Hillary Clinton had her best week so far. First came the media convincing everyone that she won the first debate, then came Joe Biden deciding not to run, followed by her testimony before the Benghazi committee. She capped off the week with a rally of thousands in Des Moines with Bill Clinton and Katy Perry, followed by a well received speech in front of 6600 people at the J-J Dinner.

Bernie Sanders also had a great day Saturday that set the tone for the stretch drive to the Iowa Caucus, 100 days away. The theme of the day for Sanders was “The Revolution Starts Here.” Supporters wore t-shirts and carried signs with that message. His Des Moines rally ended with a march across the Women of Achievement Bridge and an address at the Jefferson-Jackson Dinner. After leading his supporters across the bridge, Bernie took the stage with Steve Earle’s “The Revolution Starts now” playing on the sound system.

Martin O’Malley held a smaller rally before the dinner where he played guitar and addressed his supporters. With the race down to three main candidates, O’Malley will need a major stumble from Clinton or Sanders to have a chance to win the nomination.

6600 Democrats filled Hy-Vee Hall in Des Moines for a major fundraiser for the Iowa Democratic Party. In 2007 President Obama stole the day with John Legend and a similar march to the venue. The room was packed with supporters of all three candidates. Each campaign was allotted tickets to purchase. Unions and other political groups were also allotted tickets. Just an estimate, but I would say Clinton probably had the support of half of the room. Sanders clearly had most of the other half with a much smaller section of O’Malley supporters.

Bernie Sanders

Bernie was the first to take the stage, right after President Obama addressed the crowd via video. Sanders used the video message to launch an attack on the Republican Party “amnesia.” Bernie reminded everyone how bad the economy was when Obama took office. He gave the president credit for turning the country around. Bernie then thanked the crowd for not staying on the sidelines. He laid out the issues of the political revolution that the campaign is all about.

“You are standing up and fighting back. That’s what you are doing. And that’s what my campaign is about. When you see the middle class of this country disappearing, and people working two or three jobs so their families can survive, you don’t shrug your shoulders. You fight to raise the minimum wage and pay equity for women workers. You fight for a massive federal jobs program to rebuild our crumbling infrastructure and create millions of good paying jobs. You fight for an economy that works for working families and the middle class, for our kids and our seniors – and not just for the people on top.

“When you see the United States having more people in jail than any other country on earth – disproportionately African-American and Latino – you are demanding that we invest in jobs and education for our young people, not more jails and incarceration.”

Sanders also for the first time drew clear differences between himself and Hillary Clinton, setting the tone for the next few months.

“And let me be clear about the current trade deal that we are debating in Congress, the Trans-Pacific Partnership. It is not now, nor has it ever been, the gold standard of trade agreements. I did not support it yesterday. I do not support it today. And I will not support it tomorrow. We had a chance months ago to stop it in its tracks on the vote for fast track authority. That vote was the fork in the road and I’m glad I took the right road at the right moment in time.

“And if you agree with me about the urgent need to address the issue of climate change, then you would know immediately what to do about the Keystone pipeline. Honestly, it wasn’t that complicated. Should we support the construction of a pipeline across America and accelerate the extraction of some of the dirtiest fossil fuel in the world? To me, that was a no-brainer and that is why I have opposed the Keystone pipeline from the beginning.

“My friends, I want to bring you back to a very eventful year and a tragic moment in the modern history of our country. The year is 2002. The issue is whether Congress should vote to invade Iraq. Public opinion and most of the media were for the war. And it turned out that big majorities in Congress were too. The vote was 296-133 in the House, 77 to 23 in the Senate to give President Bush the authority to go to war. Let me tell you that I listened to what Bush had to say, to what Cheney had to say, to what Rumsfeld had to say. I didn’t believe them and I voted no.”

Bernie closed by promising that he would never abandon any segment of the population, black, white, hispanic, gay or straight, young and old, men and women, poor and working class, just because it is politically convenient.

“So let us go forward together and tell the Republicans that their reactionary agenda may work for the billionaires, but not for ordinary Americans, and we are going to defeat them.”

Martin O’ Malley

Martin O’Malley was the next candidate to take the stage. When I arrived in Iowa in February I was impressed with O’Malley as a candidate. I thought he understood how to win in Iowa and would be a threat. What nobody expected was that Bernie Sanders would take up all the oxygen to the left of Hillary Clinton. O’Malley was positioning himself to be the alternative to Clinton, but Bernie Sanders beat him to the punch. O’Malley gave another great speech. He always does, but what I hear over and over from Iowans is that he is too rehearsed. O’Malley is the perfect package, he looks the part. The problem is progressives voted for the perfect package eight years ago and then watched him maintain the status quo. On the issues there is not much daylight between Martin and Bernie. What Bernie has is authenticity. Bernie has been fighting the establishment for 30 years. O’Malley may indeed be a great progressive, but he has to show it. His record as governor of Maryland was a good one, but to the rest of the country he looks like a well polished politician in a political climate that is rejecting that. Again, he gave a great speech, but really said nothing that changes the race.

Hillary Clinton

I was on the press riser on the Hillary side of the arena. It was very loud. This was the first time I saw real excitement for Hillary Clinton in Iowa. She is clearly the party establishment candidate. The question remains how much of that excitement is bought and paid for. The campaign itself has a large staff with lots of interns. The super-PACs all have staff in Iowa as well, along with interns of their own. Saturday was in no way all staff and interns, but they do a great job firing up the crowd. They had the glow sticks and rehearsed chants from sign wars against O’Malley’s super-PAC at previous joint events.

It was a fantastic speech, well crafted, with many applause lines. It was well received in the Clinton section.

Clinton went directly after the support of those who had been supporting Joe Biden: “And by his side every step of the way has been Vice President Joe Biden. He has fought passionately for middle class families and middle class values. Let’s show him how much we appreciate Vice President Joe Biden and all he’s done for our country. Let’s give it up for the vice president.”

She often took shots at the Republicans: “And, you know, I sometimes wonder whether you sign up to be a Republican candidate for president, they put you into some kind of time machine. And they take you back 50, 70, 100 years, because they keep saying the same out-of-date, out-of-touch things.”

She didn’t mention Bernie Sanders by name, but did take aim at him when she said, “But I know, I know and you know, it’s not enough just to rail against the Republicans or the billionaires. We actually have to win this election in order to rebuild the middle class and make a positive difference in people’s lives. We have to build an America again where success is measured by how many people work their way into the middle class, not how many CEOs get bonuses; by how many children climb out of poverty, how many families can afford health care, how many young people can go to college without taking on years of debt. That’s how we should measure success in this country.

“As I said at the debate in Las Vegas, I’m a progressive who likes to get things done.”

Clinton also took direct aim at Donald Trump: “And I still believe, as a smart man once said, there’s nothing wrong with America that can’t be fixed by what is right with America. So I hear Donald Trump when he says, we have to ‘make America great again.’ Well, here’s what I say: America is great. We just have to make it fair and just. We have to make America work for everyone, not just those at the top.”

There were several big applause lines. Here are a few:

“And companies that ship jobs and profits overseas shouldn’t get tax breaks, you should get tax breaks again.

“I’ve spent my life working for children, women, families, and our country, from the kitchen table to the peace table, trying to even the odds for people who have the odds stacked against them. And I’m just getting warmed up.

“That’s what I’m fighting for, for the struggling, the striving, and the successful. I’m fighting for everyone who’s ever been knocked down, but refused to be knocked out.

“And together, we’re going to build an America where there are no ceilings for anyone, where no one gets left behind or left out, and yes, where a father can tell his daughter, you can be anything you want to be, including President of the United States of America.”

Without a doubt the Jefferson-Jackson Dinner was the culmination of a great week for Hillary Clinton, but it was also a good week for Bernie Sanders, who has entered a new phase in his campaign. The narrowing of the field will allow Bernie to focus on sharpening the contrasts between himself and Hillary Clinton. Without Webb and Chafee in the race, the next debate will be more focused on their differences.

The polls in Iowa show the race to be close. Clinton has recently regained the lead, but there was a stretch where Sanders led. It is harder to poll support in a caucus like Iowa since only the most committed show up to publicly support a candidate. My sense is still that the excitement in Iowa is for Bernie, but Hillary is showing signs of momentum. With less than 100 days to go it’s “Game On” in Iowa.

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Scott Galindez attended Syracuse University, where he first became politically active. The writings of El Salvador's slain archbishop Oscar Romero and the on-campus South Africa divestment movement converted him from a Reagan supporter to an activist for Peace and Justice. Over the years he has been influenced by the likes of Philip Berrigan, William Thomas, Mitch Snyder, Don White, Lisa Fithian, and Paul Wellstone. Scott met Marc Ash while organizing counterinaugural events after George W. Bush's first stolen election. Scott will be spending a year covering the presidential election from Iowa.

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